Basic Introduction to Luo Pit Tea

Luo Pit Tea is a local specialty of Luo Pit Town, Qujiang District, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, and is one of the earliest ripe teas in Guangdong. The tea is produced by the Yao people, with tea gardens located on slopes between 25–30 degrees.

Nutritional Value

The main components of tea include Tannic acid, Caffeine, protein, aromatic oil, enzymes, pectin, vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, organic acids, etc. Fresh tea leaves contain 75-80% water and 20-25% dry matter. Modern scientific research has shown that there are as many as about 500 compounds in tea. Some of these compounds are essential components for the human body, referred to as nutritional components, such as vitamins, proteins, amino acids, lipids, sugars, and mineral elements, which have higher nutritional value for the human body. There is also a portion of compounds that have health-care and medicinal effects, referred to as components with medicinal value, such as tea polyphenols, caffeine, polysaccharides, etc.

Product Features

Luo Pit Tea is a strip-shaped tea with a reddish-brown color and smoky aroma. Its infusion is bright red, with a rich and mellow taste that is sweet aftertaste, and even after being stored for 2-3 days, it will not develop an off-flavor or sour taste.

History and Folklore

Luo Pit Tea has a long history, dating back over 1,200 years. In his “Classic of Tea,” Lu Yu of the Tang Dynasty praised the Luo Pit Tea beneath Snowflake Rock, saying, “Often found, its flavor is excellent.” In the “Yingde County Annals” from the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, it was specifically mentioned that “Tea is produced in Luo Pit… fragrant and flavorful, like a simple and honest person, its true nature is natural and unique.” The “Qujiang County Annals” and “Shaoguan Prefecture Annals” from the Guangxu and Xuantong periods described Luo Pit Tea as “reddish in color, flavorful, and effective in relieving summer heat”… The development process of Luo Pit Tea is vividly recorded.

Snowflake Rock tea is a high-altitude tea trusted by consumers due to its unique growing environment. Luo Pit Town is situated in the central part of the Shaoguan tea region, with lush mountains, misty clouds, gullies, and ravines, and more than 30 peaks above 1,000 meters. The area is rich in various rare flora and fauna, with fertile soil and an ecological environment largely in its original state. The national-level protected area in Luo Pit is located in a subtropical humid monsoon climate zone, with predominant north-south air currents, distinct alternations between cold and warm temperatures, abundant rainfall, and significant day-night temperature differences. These superior climatic conditions and geographical environment provide irreplaceable ecological conditions for tea growth.

Production Method of Luo Pit Tea

The special process includes: Fixation – Rolling – Drying – Piling – Steaming – Rolling – Drying – Rough Tea.

Fixation: A large iron pot with a diameter of 90 cm is used for fixation at a temperature range of 160°C to 180°C. About 1.5 to 2 kg of leaves are processed per batch, using both lifting and covering techniques combined. The fixation continues until the stems and leaves become soft, taking approximately 6-8 minutes in total.

Rolling: The leaves are foot-rolled in a cloth bag. After fixation, the hot leaves are placed in a cloth bag and tied up. Then, they are foot-rolled while occasionally changing the direction of the bag until the tea is rolled into strips. The rolled leaves are then spread out to cool on a bamboo mat. If the strips are unsatisfactory, the tea can be loosened by hand, and the coarser, less compacted leaves can be re-rolled in the bag until they form proper strips.

Drying: Drying is carried out in a drying room using an open flame. The walls around the drying room are made of rammed yellow mud, and the roof is constructed from Chinese fir bark and bamboo. At a height of about 2.2 meters from the ground, Chinese fir beams support bamboo mats. When drying the tea, it is evenly scattered on the bamboo mats. The thickness depends on the amount of tea, ranging from about 2 cm for smaller batches to 3-4 cm for larger ones. Pine, camphor, maple, and other miscellaneous woods are used as fuel, with 3 to 6 piles of fuel stacked in each drying room. The open flame burns for 2 to 3 days until the tea is dried to about 60-70% moisture content.

Piling: After the leaves are dried to about 60-70% dryness, they are removed from the bamboo mats and piled on the floor covered with bamboo mats. A damp cloth is placed over the pile, which should be in a well-ventilated, clean area without any odors. During this time, the pile is turned periodically to allow the tea to undergo post-fermentation and aging, typically lasting 2 to 3 months.

Steaming: Once the tea has undergone post-fermentation and developed a unique aged aroma, it is steamed to soften it. It is then placed back in the cloth bag and foot-rolled again to make the strips tighter. Finally, the tea is dried in a bamboo shed until its moisture content reaches about 6%, after which it is sorted and sold.